The Chicago group synonymous with frontman Billy Corgan will play its first full concerts since 2000 with both guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. But bassist D’arcy Wretzky — who has had a tense relationship with Corgan and has been arrested on drug charges — will not take part, calling Corgan “insufferable” and in need of money. The band said that the tour will feature only music from its first five albums including 1993’s emotionally intense, guitar-driven Siamese Dream and 1995 follow-up Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, which brought in operatic and electronic elements. The 36-city tour of North America will open on July 12 in Glendale, Arizona and come to major arenas including Madison Square Garden in New York. The tour marks an about-face for Corgan, who for years scoffed at fans who wanted to hear old songs and kept recording and touring as The Smashing Pumpkins with fresh material. Going heavily for nostalgia, The Smashing Pumpkins announced the latest tour with a video that features the two girls — now adults — who appeared as conjoined twins on the cover of Siamese Dream. Wretzky, who has been rarely seen in public since leaving the band in 1999, gave a rare interview ahead of the announcement in which she said Corgan had incurred debt in his side project of starting a professional wrestling league. “Billy always said, ’Oh, I’ll never do just a reunion and play the oldies just for money.’ That’s exactly what it is now,” Wretzky told music site Alternative… [Read full story]

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New York is smashing records as it turns the world's largest pumpkin into the centerpiece of a haunted garden sculpted entirely out of the fruit for Halloween. It and other whoppers grown in Canada and the United States will be transformed into a "Haunted Pumpkin Garden" along with carnivorous plants and other unearthly creatures. Master pumpkin carver Ray Villafane told AFP he would be working round the clock to create the display, which last year was dismantled early due to Hurricane Sandy. "It's the biggest pumpkin event here in the US," said the 44-year-old former school teacher, who went professional…... [read more]

Actress Roseanne Barr, pictured 2014, will revive her iconic sitcom "Roseanne" for ABC. — AFP/VNA Photo Viet Nam News NEW YORK — It was the smash-hit sitcom that entertained millions in the 1980s and 1990s and now it’s back: Roseanne will again grace US television screens in 2018, ABC has announced. Returning for a limited season of eight episodes, the revival will reunite the original cast, led by Roseanne Barr and John Goodman, who played working-class parents Roseanne and Dan Conner struggling to get by. "There’s really no one better to comment on our modern America than Roseanne," said Channing…... [read more]

The northern region is experiencing the strongest cold spell so far this winter with temperatures in Sapa falling to minus one degree. Frozen trees on the Fansipan Mountain. Photo by Vietnamnet The cold spell which came down from China on Friday night has further lowered the temperatures in the north by three degrees with Hanoi at 13, Lang Son City 10, and Ha Giang City 12 degrees.On the morning of December 16, Hanoi saw cold but dry weather with highest temperatures of 15-18 degrees while some northern mountainous areas experienced lower temperatures of 12-13 degrees. It is forecasted that the…... [read more]

Amped up: The Wall will reunite to rock audiences. — Photo courtesy www.buctuong.com HA NOI — Four years after their break-up announcement, the five members of fan-favourite hard rock band Buc Tuong (The Wall) will reunite and get heavy once again. "It's still in our hearts; we want to get back together and fan the flames of our music," said band leader Tran Lap. Although the band got back together and began rehearsing almost a year ago, their return was announced only very recently. "We didn't want to talk about our return to the stage until we made all of…... [read more]

Amid to the high rainfall, floodwater is expected to rise again in the local river systems from Thua Thien- Hue to Phu Yen and Kon Tum provinces.The natural disasters of flashflood, landslide and flooding are warned to occur in the provinces' lowland areas. Additionally, the high rainfall has poured the huge volume of water to reservoirs which could cause reservoir unsafety. This early morning, temperature in the north sharply dropped. Temperature in some mountainous areas as O Quy Ho (Sa Pa), Y Ty (Bat Xat) and Nam Chay (Muong Khuong) is measured at zero degree Celsius. According to the National…... [read more]